University of Mobile graduate overcomes obstacles to finish college

View full sizeBen Hedrick, who recently moved back to Birmingham, is seen studying in his dorm at the University of Mobile on Dec. 7, 2011. He will participate in commencement this spring. (Press-Register/Victor Calhoun)

MOBILE, Alabama -- Ben Hedrick went off to college to learn to depend on himself and to solve his own problems.

He'll soon have a degree, too, and his story is deeply inspiring.

Hedrick, 24, who has cerebral palsy, is the first student with a serious disability to live in a dorm on campus at the University of Mobile, according to school officials.

“I told my mom I’d rather learn to be independent now than when I was 30 years old,” said Hedrick, sitting in the lobby of his dorm recently with his golden retriever.

Hedrick, who finished his studies in business administration this semester, will return to Mobile in the spring to participate in the school’s commencement.

More than four years after entering the Southern Baptist-affiliated school, Hedrick is encouraging other seriously disabled students to live on campus.

To help them, Hedrick started the Hedrick Foundation, which assists physically disabled students in overcoming financial and logistical barriers.

Hedrick credits Brian Boyle, the university’s vice president for institutional advancement, with helping him get the foundation off the ground. “It was an educational experience for all of us,” said Boyle, who is a member of the foundation’s board of directors.

Boyle has been more than just a mentor to Hedrick.

“Brian Boyle changed my life direction,” Hedrick said recently. “He helped me learn skills so I can go out and live my life.”

Boyle said that Hedrick has a keen desire to help other college-bound students with disabilities. “He’s blazed so many trails,” he said.

“He sort of represents the best of college students,” said Boyle, who met Hedrick in Birmingham several years ago while on a recruiting trip.

He added, “He literally is the most determined young man I have ever come across.”

At the university, Hedrick enjoyed the support of a wide network of friends. “Not once did I ever ask for help and someone not step in to do what I needed to be done,” he said.

He also spoke of the sacrifices that his parents — Jim and Sarah Anne Hedrick of Birmingham — made on his behalf.

“I know as I leave here I’ve helped people,” Hedrick said. “I was able to make an impact because it changed how they viewed my situation.”

With his foundation, Hedrick said, he can take his efforts “beyond the University of Mobile.”

His college experience, said Hedrick, “taught me that there are people who believe in me.”

Said University of Mobile spokeswoman Kathy Dean: “He forged a unique path for himself.”